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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 11/10/2006 : 20:49:21
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This new batch starts with:
The Sentinel [a catch-up screening] and Breaking and Entering.
The Sentinel is one of those perfectly adequate thrillers - not all that thrilling, but it motors along at a pace that leaves little time to pick out the lumps in the porridge. Once you accept the basic premise you can hitch a ride for a couple of hours and not lose too much of your soul in the process.
Michael Douglas [looking increasingly like his dad] plays an agent on special ops protecting POTUS, and in one of those "oh, yeah, by the way" plot twists, he's having an affair with Mrs POTUS [Kim Basinger doing a nice job with very little help from the script]. When his best pal and colleague is murdered just hours before the two were meant to meet to discuss a possible threat, fellow agent Kiefer Sutherland -- ably assisted by Desperate Housewife Eva Longoria as his newbie -- take over the investigation of the mole among them, when evidence emerges implicating Douglas not only as the dirty agent, but heavily involved in a plan to kill the Pres. The script makes a stab at providing characterisation, introducing bad-blood between former pals Douglas and Sutherland after Sutherland became convinced, erroneously, that Douglas was sleeping with his wife.
The acting throughout is extremely competent, more than the script deserves really. Clark Johnson handles the action scenes with flair. Unhappily the screenplay puts us in charge of knowledge way too far before the characters, so though we may feel smug at how much they're missing, there's precious little challenge for us. The story unfolds with no wit and mono-dimensional people who serve as mechanistic plot movers, all of which make for a film that's bright and shiny moment by moment, but is about as satisfying at the end as a meal of bubble gum.
I wasn't expecting to like Breaking and Entering; oh, no, I thought, not another tale of middle class Londoners who refuse to be content with their privileged lifestyle and seek fleshy thrills and related dangers. And I've often had a problem with what I take to be Minghella's inability to emotionally engage with his characters.
But I was wrong. Although its initial set-up takes a while, the resulting explosion of lives and subsequent tidying up is worth the wait. Minghella harnesses the film's energy, leaving us clues about its simmering presence. The characters' very names declare themselves: Will. Liv. Bea.
The film pivots on moments of transition and points of contrast, echoed by its very setting in the London district of Kings Cross. In recent times this has been an area of shady dealings and departures, peopled as it is by travellers heading to and from the landmark mock-Gothic railroad station, residents of faded gentry Georgian crescents, and the druggies and homeless waifs who congregate in the shadows. However it's currently undergoing a complete make-over; a veritable forest of building cranes testifies to a new architectural vision, one to be sure which will help 'clean up' the neighbourhood.
One such visionary is Jude Law as Will, who with partner Martin Freeman [from The Office], run The Green Effect, a firm with integrity, inhabiting a vast building undergoing radical remodelling. Will's private life contains long-term girlfriend Liv [Robin Penn Wright], half-Swedish, half-American and her autistic but gymnastically talented daughter Bea who's in transition from childhood. Liv's own transit involves finding a way to cope with bouts of depression, putting quite a strain on the relationship. Law might have taken - and Minghella allow him to - a more obvious tortured path in his portrayal. Wisely he seeks the decency of the man, not because that way we'll be on his side, but so that his coping choices of release, temptation, and redemption come from a base we can recognise.
It's the repeated break-ins at The Green Effect which serve as the catalyst for disruption and change. One of the thieves is a teenager, just a couple of years older than Bea; the Bosnian son of a magnificently radiant Juliette Binoche, a refugee from the brutalities of wartime [and quite a contrast with the transplanted Liv]. While she toils as a tailor, the son she adores is being used by his uncle to steal IT equipment for profitable recycling -- another detail of transition. No matter how much you may have admired Binoche in past films, the nuance of every single moment of her performance here captures you, sometimes elevating the mood to sheer joy, sometimes completely breaking your heart with her pain. However good everyone else is - and they are! - her work here invests the film with enormous dignity, makes it cohesive and comprehensible. It's a potent and quietly dangerous performance.
Minghella's original screenplay refuses to take any easy ways out. His people not only make amazing choices, they do so with intelligence and courage, the stuff of small heroism, nothing spectacular. No, it's not perfect. There might have been a tad more about Ray Winstone as the cop investigating the burglaries to make his choices more than neat plot helpers. And, wonderful actor though he is, his tone here belongs to a different film. But these are quibbles. If you enjoy a film that doesn't pull its emotional punches and is actually about something relevant to a society groping toward a cleaner future - you won't be disappointed.
Coming soon:
Cars
Starter For Ten
The Wind That Shakes The Barley
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Cars
It's a small point of interest that both Cars and Starter For Ten deal with issues of self-realization and growing up -- and that it's the cartoon which handles the material more engagingly.
You'd expect Lasseter's latest Pixar product to be technologically near-perfect, and it is. You'd expect a Randy Newman soundtrack to rock appropriately, and it does. You might not expect to find the voices Mario Andretti and Michael Schumacher among a bevy of wonderful voice characterizations, but you get them as a bonus. Sadly, what you don't get is the sharp writing of Toy Story, Monsters Inc, or The Incredibles. You also don't get a targetted audience. It's not really a Big Ears and Noddy, Little Engine that Could kind of film for totlets. And its hero, an arrogant know-it-all race-car who wants above all to win the Piston Cup -- like some teenaged version of Harrison Ford in After Henry -- who needs to "get over" himself to ditch the glitz and find happiness in the things that money can't buy -- well, it's all a bit hokey and unlikely to appeal to the yoof market who don't exactly wallow in that kind of nostalgia. Interesting, too, re-watching this in light of the recent news stories of global warming -- how come in all those energy-saving debates nobody's questioning the glamourization of the motor racing industry. I guess the equivalent would be a sexy, multi-million buck industry that made tobacco-growing a competitive sport while the world campaigned against smoking. Just a thought.
Starter For Ten is one of those "almost" films. It almost has something to say. It's almost funny. It almost gives enough room for the actors to prove themselves. You know the kind of thing. Its UK release so close to the infinitely more successful History Boys only points up its many failures. You know those "For Dummies" books -- well this is a kind of "Coming of Age For Dummies" but not so amusing. What should be surface-light, down-deep heavy comes out as turgid and stodgy as an over-floured fruitcake.
James McAvoy stars in Tom Vaghaun's treatment of David Nicholls's version of his mid-1980s novel about a very bright small town working class lad mixing it at University and realizing his long-time dream to appear on classic BBC-TV prestigious but prize-less quiz University Challenge. The title comes from quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne's catch-phrase "Your starter for ten" meaning the first round for ten points. Along the way he learns, as they say, life lessons, becoming involved with not just one but two college cuties -- oops, intelligent, attractive young women, Alice the free-wheeling daughter of hippies, and Rebecca an engagingly serious Socialist activist.
Why the script couldn't have kept Rebecca as a short, overweight Scottish Jew is anyone's guess, and sad, too, because it would have been McAvoy's choices far more interesting. Presumably, too, Nicholls' screenplay left out the sex, the abortion, etc so as not to detract from the humour. Trouble is, though it does raise the occasional smile of recognition, the film just ain't funny. That's not the fault of the actors. The line-up here is impressive, including the infallible Lindsay Duncan, versatile comedienne Catherine Tate, Benedict Cumberbatch, the remarkable Dominic Cooper [who also features in The History Boys and with his economy and smoldering good looks surely deserves more leading roles], and not least Rebecca Hall and Alice Eve - both playing characters with their own real first names, and both daughters of established UK showbiz names: director Sir Peter Hall, and actor Trevor Eve. McAvoy himself is a bit flavour of the month, though having seen him now in several roles I'm not convinced he has the range that casting directors think he does. Here he's playing about 10 years younger than his real age, and there's something a bit too knowing behind his supposed corruptible innocence.
But I may be too harsh because the biggest flaws are in the adaptation and the direction, the latter a pretty plonking affair. If it doesn't sound too contradictory we need here something simultaneously lighter and deeper.
On Monday it's Loach folks!
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The Wind That Shakes the Barley
It's plain to see why Loach won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for this caustic vision of the early days leading to the Irish Free State. It constantly contrasts potent political philosophy with the indomitable fragility of the land and the tenderness of people who sacrifice themselves to free it. Above all, it does this with a dispassionate yet profound honesty. Though the narrative is threaded through with passion and sentiment, not a frame succumbs to sentimentality, not a false note is struck by the actors, there's not a misplaced scene in a narrative that might have become too twisted to follow. The editing reflects the difficulty of the story: smooth and lyrical to underscore unity, but brutal and disturbing when, as Yeats says in The Second Coming, "the center cannot hold."
Some dismiss Loach, or this film, as polemical, but I believe they're missing the subtlety. Yes, the 1920 setting dominates, evoking as it does the terrible world war that immediately preceded it, introducing a layer of brutality settling like dust over the small details of life. But if the film is about anything, it's about dignity - preserving it, trying to hold on to it in the face of compromise, watching as it slips away like mercury. What, Loach asks, is it all for, all the obscenity of killing, if our very dignity is washed away with the blood. Loach refuses to manipulate his audience. Though the story follows the Irish characters rather than the English, he doesn't paint them in colours of glory; they're venal just as much as they are idealistic.
This is the heart of the real drama, the battles with the occupaying English troops merely being the catalyst. The smaller battle of human dignity is between two brothers Teddy the somewhat deluded pragmatist and Damian, who's abandoned his medical studies in England to fight with his comrades. Because there is deeply held dissent from both sides as far-away politicians sign pieces of paper that force compromise on the people who shed blood for their principles, the brothers find themselves at terrible odds with each other resulting in an inevitable and terrible end. In the way drama must, the brothers' story is exagerated to make the point. Perversely this also provides the film's main flaw -- the personal story's theatricality. Personally I think Loach can be forgiven, considering the tumult of the times.
Loach never fears the ideas of a big canvas, but prefers to paint on a small one, unlike for instance the equally powerful Kurosawa. Squeezing such enormority into a tiny personal space, interpolating rather than extrapolating, allows us to draw our own conclusions about the effects of action rather than focus on action itself.
Though it's unfair to single out performances in such an ensemble piece, Cillian Murphy's Damian, full to brim with quiet conviction, courage and intelligence, assures his place as one of the finest young Irish actors. Compare this with his "Kitty" in Neil Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto to be aware of his range.
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Next up among others will be 007 and Tenacious D. What a duo! |
Edited by - BaftaBaby on 11/15/2006 00:14:02 |
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Whippersnapper. 
"A fourword thinking guy."
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Posted - 11/11/2006 : 18:19:38
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
Why the script couldn't have kept Rebecca as a short, overweight Scottish Jew is anyone's guess, and sad, too, because it would have been McAvoy's choices far more interesting.
I dunno. Being Scottish seems a relatively small drawback to me, considering all those plus points.  |
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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 11/11/2006 : 20:30:41
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
Cars
It's a small point of interest that both Cars and Starter For Ten deal with issues of self-realization and growing up -- and that it's the cartoon which handles the material more engagingly.
You'd expect Lasseter's latest Pixar product to be technologically near-perfect, and it is. You'd expect a Randy Newman soundtrack to rock appropriately, and it does. You might not expect to find the voices Mario Andretti and Michael Schumacher among a bevy of wonderful voice characterizations, but you get them as a bonus. Sadly, what you don't get is the sharp writing of Toy Story, Monsters Inc, or The Incredibles. You also don't get a targetted audience. It's not really a Big Ears and Noddy, Little Engine that Could kind of film for totlets. And its hero, an arrogant know-it-all race-car who wants above all to win the Piston Cup -- like some teenaged version of Harrison Ford in After Henry -- who needs to "get over" himself to ditch the glitz and find happiness in the things that money can't buy -- well, it's all a bit hokey and unlikely to appeal to the yoof market who don't exactly wallow in that kind of nostalgia. Interesting, too, re-watching this in light of the recent news stories of global warming -- how come in all those energy-saving debates nobody's questioning the glamourization of the motor racing industry. I guess the equivalent would be a sexy, multi-million buck industry that made tobacco-growing a competitive sport while the world campaigned against smoking. Just a thought.
And I'm with you once again, here. Although I didn't think about that global warming bit. I wasn't all that thrilled with much in this movie. Here's my review. |
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turrell 
"Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh Ohhhh "
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Posted - 11/12/2006 : 00:05:09
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I have a near 5-year old so I end up seeing many of the CGI films made today and its pretty obvious to me the good ones from the bad ones. The bad ones are quickly forgotten and never mentioned again - the good ones (from a pre-schooler's point of view at least) are talked about for several days, become objects of obsession and toys are requested from them.
Examples of the mediocre to the very bad (from the toddlers point of view mind you): Shark Tale, The Wild, Open Season (the very worst).
The magical ones: Nemo, Shrek, Monsters, Inc., and Cars.
My son wants to wear one t-shirt every day - his Lighning McQueen t-shirt. He knows all the character names from the movie 6 months after seeing it and he keeps asking when he can see Cars at his house (code word for when is the DVD being released).
I'll agree that it is a bit thin on story, but but the storytelling is magical and small touches like the mosquitos being VW bugs were well appreciated. I think it also speaks to the romanticized small Western American town along Route 66 much more than it does glorify NASCAR - after all - he finds his true home in Radiator Springs along with other who have eschewed the fast life elsewhere. I think global warming is truly a stretch and while I'm no fan of auto racing, I think its probably not any worse than millions of soccer moms driving around car pools of young footballers in their over-sized SUVs or the power required to keep a hockey rink frozen in the presence of 40,000 fans. I have problems with the NASCAR culture, but global warming is pretty far down my list.
So while I can't say this was the best film I saw all year, my son probably could and I imagine most 4 - 8 year-olds who saw it would likely agree. Add to the fact that most parents who had to sit through crap like Open Season probably enjyed themselves too and I'd say it found a substantial audience (not to mention grossing 244 million in the US alone plus hundreds of millions more in merchandizing). |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 11/12/2006 : 05:12:18
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quote:
Originally posted by Turrell
I have a near 5-year old so I end up seeing many of the CGI films made today and its pretty obvious to me the good ones from the bad ones. The bad ones are quickly forgotten and never mentioned again - the good ones (from a pre-schooler's point of view at least) are talked about for several days, become objects of obsession and toys are requested from them.
Examples of the mediocre to the very bad (from the toddlers point of view mind you): Shark Tale, The Wild, Open Season (the very worst).
The magical ones: Nemo, Shrek, Monsters, Inc., and Cars.
My son wants to wear one t-shirt every day - his Lighning McQueen t-shirt. He knows all the character names from the movie 6 months after seeing it and he keeps asking when he can see Cars at his house (code word for when is the DVD being released).
I'll agree that it is a bit thin on story, but but the storytelling is magical and small touches like the mosquitos being VW bugs were well appreciated. I think it also speaks to the romanticized small Western American town along Route 66 much more than it does glorify NASCAR - after all - he finds his true home in Radiator Springs along with other who have eschewed the fast life elsewhere. I think global warming is truly a stretch and while I'm no fan of auto racing, I think its probably not any worse than millions of soccer moms driving around car pools of young footballers in their over-sized SUVs or the power required to keep a hockey rink frozen in the presence of 40,000 fans. I have problems with the NASCAR culture, but global warming is pretty far down my list.
So while I can't say this was the best film I saw all year, my son probably could and I imagine most 4 - 8 year-olds who saw it would likely agree. Add to the fact that most parents who had to sit through crap like Open Season probably enjyed themselves too and I'd say it found a substantial audience (not to mention grossing 244 million in the US alone plus hundreds of millions more in merchandizing).
I agree, Turrell, that your son has a much more direct route to an appreciation of the film than a wrinkly like me. All I can say is there might be a cultural difference between the ubiquitous car society of California, and a leafy English town. I saw this at a special kids screening, and was aware of many restless children who weren't exactly enchanted. I also carried out a TOTALLY unscientific survey in the lobby and discovered a bunch of unhappy kids. Some thought the cars were cute, but the love-story passed them by and they didn't seem to understand why the McQueen took his final race decision. I only mentioned the bit about global warming in the context of my recent viewing of the Gore film -- there wasn't anything intrinsic in Cars! And, finally - hey if we all agreed about everything what a boring old world it would be!
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 11/16/2006 : 23:46:04
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This batch begins with the KAPOW of all KAPOWs ... his name's Craig, Daniel Craig. And he's rebirthed a cine legend! Yes, he's that good and so is this Bond. It sings its arias straight into your mouth, dances its fandangos lightly on your back, socks you in the jaw, and soothes your throbbin' head with a velvet glove smooth as the booze in your glass.
From the arresting yet slightly cheesy opening graphics, I was searching for the word to describe this pacey pic, and that word is iconic. Script, direction, star and supports all pay tribute to seminal Bond icons without trapping themselves in the past; everyone sets new standards, from the Carol Reed-y black and white opening noir shots to the astounding set action pieces all spiced with relationships you can believe in. If you hitch this ride with Bond you'll take off with a gasp, land in interludes of banter delivered by excellent actors creating more character than Fleming deserves, be whisked away again and again for more chills, spills and thrills, and finally almost wistfully see the game through to the satisfying end.
There are a few script holes [mainly involving the Mathis character - played with amusing authority by that wonderful Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini], but I forgive them, because what this Bond offers over everything else is real people. Yes, of course, we're in that absurd no-real-spy-ever-looked-this-good-or-delivered-so-much-punch territory, but Craig rummages through all the dross for the man's reality - he finds it and presents it to you irresistibly. And I'm not letting the fact that he's sex on legs sway me in any way whatsoever! Craig's always been a strong actor; I first clocked him on tv about 10 years ago and was impressed by his intensity of the moment. Back then he was a bit more quirky looking but had that screen charisma that makes you want to see more. I can't wait to see him as Lord Asriel in His Dark Materials.
The rest of the cast is equally dedicated to creating cogent characters, and most are more than equal to the task. Production values as you'd expect from the franchise are impeccable, though I'd quibble slightly about some of the dress designs. But let's face it, if you've come to Bond for a fashion show, boy are you in the wrong movie! You'll find other Bond icons - the car, the hi-tech tracking devices -- though no Q in this script. And the eagle-eyed among you will spot a blink-and-you-miss-him shot of Virgin boss Branson going through airport security.
But finally, ultimately, crucially is the direction. Though he no longer lists it on his credits Martin Campbell's first feature was a try-hard little Brit almost-comedy called Eskimo Nell; it was supposedly about the trials and tribulations of getting an indie film financed and produced. There were in fact three Eskimo Nells and I played one of them. The next time I worked with Martin was as a post-production associate on the voice dub of the Ray Liotta film No Escape. Campbell had already marched a hell of a long way on his path to directorial heights. He's reached them with Casino Royale. It's an assured job indeed. He paid his dues on some inferior action flicks and that makes the no-holds barred set pieces here truly spectacular. But what shows Campbell's maturity is his sense of rhythm, scene-by-scene but also in the natural sections of the film. These layers aren't just plonked down along side each other; they flow from one another and take the story forward. Extremely KAPOW, then transitional, then daring some subtle wit, flirting, romance before building up the tension again. It reminded me of those set routines in the Olympics ice skating: the superior skaters seamlessly weave their required steps into a piece of poetry.
Now I'm not going so far as to say Casino Royale is Shakespeare, but it's a bit of an ode to the spirit of Bond. And I'll be there to witness the next verse.
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 11/17/2006 : 06:58:35
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| My question is - how was the humour in this film? Bond needs to have his tongue in his cheek, as well as sometimes swabbing some woman's tonsils. |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 11/17/2006 : 08:53:53
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
My question is - how was the humour in this film? Bond needs to have his tongue in his cheek, as well as sometimes swabbing some woman's tonsils.
Well, as someone pointed out in another thread, there actually IS humour, but it's not the snide-y innuendo-y titter-y [tit, geddit, geddit] stuff that often graced a pre-Craig script. In fact you'd have to say, there's nothing cheap about this version. Except maybe those darn dresses [which undoubtedly cost a fortune!]
The other thing about DC's portrayal is that because he plays the character rather than the line, when he does find the appropriate time to crack wise and/or smile it feels natural. And, of course, he's even more gorgeous [straight boys, look away now]. 
Just off to a catch-up screening for Akeelah and the Bee. Hmmm.
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 11/17/2006 08:56:30 |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 11/17/2006 : 10:45:32
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
And, of course, he's even more gorgeous [straight boys, look away now].
You can say that again! From those people I've spoken too, the only people who find him attractive are gay men.
(I personally think he's a pock-faced, chinless wimp who is not at all sexy.)
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Whippersnapper.
"A fourword thinking guy."
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Posted - 11/17/2006 : 11:51:29
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
And, of course, he's even more gorgeous [straight boys, look away now].
You can say that again! From those people I've spoken too, the only people who find him attractive are gay men.
(I personally think he's a pock-faced, chinless wimp who is not at all sexy.)
Baffy exposed as gay man shocker! |
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benj clews 
"...."
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Posted - 11/17/2006 : 12:42:26
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
[quote]From those people I've spoken too, the only people who find him attractive are gay men.
That's worrying... Lisa told me she likes DC because he reminds her of me. Don't see it myself. Then again, this from the same warped mind that reckoned I looked like Canoe Reeves  |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 11/17/2006 : 15:00:07
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
From those people I've spoken too, the only people who find him attractive are gay men.
That's worrying... Lisa told me she likes DC because he reminds her of me. Don't see it myself. Then again, this from the same warped mind that reckoned I looked like Canoe Reeves
Hehehe. You spell that right - it isn't Ciano?
But don't worry, Benj. Women see many things in their man, and may I mention that "reminds" doesn't alwasy mean "looks exactly like"?
I think my husband reminds me of Pierce Brosnan, with a touch of Ben Cross and some Jeremy Irons into the mix.
(Yes, I'm a lucky woman. Unfortunately, the poor guy married a cross between Sharon Stone and Golda Meir! Let's not go there, shall we?)
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 11/17/2006 : 17:34:50
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Akeelah and The Bee
Why does everyone know who Haley Joel Osment is but hardly anyone's heard of Keke Palmer? I'm not going to say Osment isn't an extremely talented child actor who immediately scored with intelligence and undeniable screen presence. But Keke Palmer's similarly quiet style, amazing timing, utter truth and simplicity make the screen positively glow. Granted Akeelah never had the box office chance of features like Forrest Gump or The Sixth Sense which provided wider exposure for Osment's talents than Palmer will receive. But this kid absolutely radiates talent and beauty and if anyone deserves a Hollywood path to superstardom it is she. Mind you I thought the same thing when I saw Gabrielle Union in Bring it On.
Perhaps it's not just the fact that Osment is white and both those girls are black. Maybe it isn't that at all. Hell, I don't know. What I do know is that the Hollywood spin machine is on a wonky orbit if all doors aren't open for Palmer. I wonder if Laurence Fishburne hadn't been the exec producer of this charming, dignified, engaging film whether it would have received funding from Starbucks - yep those coffee folk - not to mention a Lions Gate distribution deal. Which ain't MGM, but this little-picture-that-could went on to some fairly decent first week grosses.
None of which makes a film good, bad or indifferent and speaks more to the pr machine than its inherent values. But, despite some blatant heart-string tugging, and chock-full-of-family values as it is, this film patronises neither its audience nor any of its characters. Up and coming writer/director Doug Atchison received the coveted Nicholl Fellowship for the script; his direction is assured if not quite inspired. But, as for inspiration, the story makes up for it in spades.
America is probably the home of the Spelling Bee. These classroom contests used to be a bedrock of the elementary school curriculum and instilled a fascination with words as well as putting learning into a games context. Sure winning was fun; it was nice. Sadly, it even made for some of that yucky arrogance from precocious little swots. But, especially when teams were involved, it celebrated learning, elevating it to the status usually reserved for ubiquitous sports.
Eleven year old Akeelah, being raised by an overworked single mom of four whose husband was the innocent victim of a fatal LA street shooting, discovers an astounding ability to spell words, all kinds of words, words way beyond her reading level. She receives hardly any support from her family, each involved in their own worlds, and is closest to the memory of her dad and her big brother who's away in the air force most of the time. Her big sister's time is dominated by her own [presumably illegitimate] baby, and her mother [the very wonderful Angela Bassett] is constantly concerned by her gang-flirting younger son. Bullied at school for her brains Akeelah is reluctant to draw more attention to herself when an opportunity comes along to represent her school in the district heats of the national spelling bee.
That she'll inevitably get there and triumph - in her singular and surprising way - is a plotpoint waiting to happen, but smoothed by the help she receives from Fishburne as a private spelling coach. Hey - baseball hopefuls have 'em, so why not?! It's this growing relationship with Fishburne's character - an academic on sabbatical after a family tragedy - which provides the pivot for the film's real story. It's not about spelling words, it's about moral life choices.
If you haven't already seen this film, seek it out. It will engage you, I promise. It may even cause a tear or two to trickle down your normally cemented visage. Visage: Noun from the Old French meaning face.
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 11/17/2006 17:36:09 |
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BaftaBaby
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 11/18/2006 : 19:59:23
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Tenacious D in: the Pick of Destiny
Welcome to the greatest film review in the world!
Okay - a confession and a bit of a mystery.
Confession: I'm not a rock and roll fan, I never got high in my life, I left the US before the whole SNL thing, as for my age -- we won't even go there! I'm definitely not the target audience for this movie. Bit of a mystery: So how come I loved it?!
On the face of it, if I'd read a synopsis of the plot, a description of the characters, hell - if I'd been given a copy of the screenplay -- I probably would have backed away trying not to breathe too deeply in case I became contaminated with something virulent and awful.
There are echoes of influence here, not least some BIG favorites of mine - South Park, Monty Python, and the anarchy implicit in Tim Burton films. The story's risible: two guitar dudes are sent to steal the "pick of destiny" from the Rock and Roll Museum so they can win an open mic contest at an LA club and start their rock career. The pick is rumored to be made from the broken tooth of Satan whose powers cannot be fully unleashed until he is once again complete. And guess who shows up at the museum? Yeah, right!
But then - films really and truly only work or not on screen. Duh!
No, it's not the greatest film I ever saw. Yep, it's way too long and we're not even thinking about deconstructing the story or the characters or anything really that normally would occupy a critique. But there are a few over-riding elements that grabbed me:
First of all - it's FUNNY!!! There aren't that many films that make me
laugh out loud. No, not all the way through, and there are plenty of cheap laughs along the way that only raised a loud smile. But I promise you, there is some wicked humour here ... and when it comes it's paced just right. If it relies on visuals they're splendid; if it's a line delivery the timing is spot on.
Equally as important - talent oozes from every sprocket hole in the film. Black himself - the unlikeliest of screen heroes - fizzes with energy and the focus of a comedian who has the timing of a musician. Kyle Gass isn't up to Black's screen presence - and is certainly an even unlikelier film lead -- but his musicianship is undeniable, and he's a great foil for Black. Sure, they've been working together for years -- first meeting at Tim Robbins's UCLA improv class, and it was Gass who taught Black to play guitar. So the partnership is easy and smooth, it's as assured as Abbott and Costello.
Director Liam Lynch, another television and music alumnus, knows how to tune into the weighty duo; knows how to bring them forward in the best light; knows when to creep away quietly and just let them do their thing; knows how to handle the interludes of action, and the moments of intense comedy from superb guest star cameos such as [executive producer] Ben Stiller as a guitar shop oracle, Tim Robbins as a deformed ex-thief still dreaming of the big scam, John C. Reilly as Sasquatch in an engaging live action/animation sequence, Amy Poehler as a bored suburban waitress, Foo Fighters and ex-Nirvana drummer David Grohl as Satan, and - in an unexpectedly powerful mini-rock-opera opening - Meatloaf as Jack Black's dad, decrying in song "the devil's music."
I'm living proof that you do not have to be stoned to groove to this film. But you just might have to be a little bit weird and crazy.  
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 11/19/2006 22:03:38 |
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Conan The Westy
"Father, Faithful Friend, Fwiffer"
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Posted - 11/18/2006 : 21:39:41
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quote:
Originally posted by BaftaBabe
But you just might have to be a little bit weird and crazy.
I'm in. |
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Let the [BAFTA] viewings begin!
